Swimming
by Chisais-Redorbshipping
Summary: Redorbshipping. May tries to get Maxie to swim, but he really hates water.


**Prompt:** "May trying to get Maxie to swim, but he really hates water"

Hindsight is twenty twenty some say, and May understood that more now a-days then ever. Consciously putting herself in the place of having to deal with the Leader of Team Magma, no mater how much she enjoyed his company, was a constant reminder that Maxie was usually proven right in hindsight.

They had been arguing for awhile now. Nothing that was particularly mean spirited or poor. Regardless, it was an argument, and the fact that both parties involved were so stubborn in their very nature was not a good mix. Even if May was beginning to see that she might have been wrong to suggest he do something like this.

He really must have hated swimming to put up such a fuss…

"Come on Maxie! Quit standing on shore like a stick in the mud! The water isn't going to kill you! Look!" She gestured over to the Pokemon at her side. It was a Swampert; her partner Pokemon. "Even Marshal is in the water, and he's technically a ground type! If he can swim, you can too! So come on!"

Maxie scoffed at her attempt to use of false logic to coax him into the lake. "A Swampert only bares Ground as its secondary typing miss May. Its primary typing is Water. Of course it can swim. However, no Ground Pokemon lacking a Water characteristic would be caught dead anywhere near a pool of water. "

May paused a moment. At first not having a rebuttal, but very quickly finding one. A very obvious one that Maxie must not have remembered at the moment, but he did know if she recalled correctly…

"What about Stunfisk?"

Maxie's face went blank. "…I do not… know of that Pokemon."

"Liar!" May yelled triumphantly. "I _know _you've seen a Stunfisk before! I know it! You were with me when I received it via trade form Unova! See? I just debunked your theory! Now get in the water!"

Maxie cursed mildly under his breath. Though she was coincidentally correct, he refused to admit his fault to her. As such, he attempted to salvage his argument. "A Stunfisk may be a Ground Pokemon, but it is a fish. Thus, by common logic, it would also be able to swim."

May rolled her eyes at his flimsy argument. "Yea, well. Even if that's true. What does that have to do with you? Your human and are mostly made of water anyways. You can swim!"

"…I do not… like swimming."

May sighed. "I've gathered that now, but we're already out here and…" May paused. Then switched the direction of her statements to something a bit more playful. In hopes that maybe getting him in a better mood would get him to at least _consider_ getting in the water with her. "I'm beginning to wonder if you even know how to swim? You do don't you? Maxie?"

It apparently didn't work, because he didn't say anything. Just remained standing in the place he was. With his arms crossed defiantly over his chest. Now thinking over all the cons of having a rather sharp witted and intelligent person around, or at least one willing to openly contradict him. Which made her much unlike the members of Team Magma he was normally surrounded by.

Given that he hadn't given her an answer. May started to wonder if he really didn't know how to swim. She had only suggested it as a joke, but was it maybe true? She was beginning to wonder.

"Ya know if you don't. You can use one of my Pokemon as help. I'm sure Marshal or Shari wouldn't mind giving you a hand."

Maxie sneered at her. It wasn't a malicious or disgusted sneer, but it was still a sour look for sure. "Your Swampert isn't exactly fond of me I'd say, and I refuse to even _look_ at any Pokemon that is the abomination known as Sharpedo."

Now it was May's turn to give a sour look. Despite knowing full well why he would dislike Sharpedo in much the way he described. May couldn't help herself from feeling a bit bitter that he insulted one of her Pokemon.

So she took a stab at his pride in response. "Wont look at them? Oh… So is that why you lost that battle to Archie at the Maison? You couldn't look at his Sharpedo…"

Maxie glared down at her. This one was a bit darker than the last. "You are overstepping a line, _child._"

May sunk down into the water a bit after hearing that. She knew just from that one word that she had pushed a button she shouldn't have, but May felt it was his fault for saying things like that about her Pokemon — about any Pokemon.

"O-oh don't even pull that. You know I'm not a child, I'm twenty-one. As for overstepping a line, we wouldn't even been having this conversation if you just got in the damn water!"

He remained silent again, and just watched as she waded absentmindedly in the water. Waiting for him to either say something to her, or do something. Anything at all.

May frowned when she realized that he intended to remain silent. "Come on… Please? You said you were fine with spending the day with me. So how come—?"

Finally he responded. "Usually I am not across you when it comes to our… 'meetings' but when you try to force me into something you now clearly can see I distaste…"

He gave her a firm look. The kind of look one would give a child they were reprimanding. She hated that look… It felt degrading. "I will not budge on this. I loathe swimming with all my being…"

"Well…" May spoke sheepishly. Knowing she had messed up a bit somewhere along the line. "I just thought you'd be getting bored of always running around Hoenn with me to search for Mega Stones or Pokemon I need for the Pokedex." She mumbled something under her breath too quiet for Maxie to hear.

_"…I just didn't want you to get bored of me…"_

Maxie caught just the tail end of her mumbled dialect, and as he comprehended the meaning of the words, and thus, her reasoning for all this trouble. He found it difficult to remain upset with her.

May actually desiring his company was more than could be said for many of his other acquaintances, or even his team in some cases.

"On the contrary…" He said softly. "I rather enjoyed those outings. I was, in fact, disappointed that your plan for today entitled swimming pointlessly in a lake for no reason."

May gave him an unsure look, as if she suspected he was not being sincere by saying that. "Hm… You sure? I mean, I love documenting Pokemon for the Pokedex, but I wasn't sure if you liked it. So I wanted to suggest something different for once and… yea."

His eyebrow raised. "And your idea for a change of passe was swimming of all things?"

She suddenly looked very embarrassed. She must have now realized how dumb and inappropriate this idea was. Her speech portrayed her unease perfectly by how uneven and rapid it had become. "W-well! Your hard to figure out! I have no idea what you like! So I can only think of things I like. A-and whenever I ask you what you want to do you always say you don't mind! So what the heck am I supposed to do?!"

Maxie sighed to himself whilst he pinched the bridge of his nose in a response to mild irritation. Not towards her but towards himself. It really wasn't the girl's fault. May was right in that Maxie did not give her much information to work off of. Which was something he couldn't help. Talking about his thoughts was not a strong suit of his. Social interactions of any kind weren't really.

So Maxie decided to give her the best explanation of his 'likes' that he could then and there. "Anything that gains me knowledge I do not already posses; anything that might teach me something, or challenge my intelligence. _That _will be something I'll enjoy, miss May."

May nodded slowly in a hesitant and sheepish way. Then swam back over to the waters edge next to where Maxie stood.

She looked up at him. "You know I… I Heard over the BuzzNav yesterday that someone found a Hypno on Route 121… We could fly there and try to—"

Before May could even finish, Maxie extended his hand down towards her and kindly offered it as help to climb out of the water. May reached out and took hold of it. With a modest pull from Maxie and push from May. She was effortlessly lifted form the water.

"Now that sounds like a much more preferable way to spend the day. Let us leave at once."


End file.
